The Springfield City Council has passed the ordinance for a new apartment complex on South MacArthur Boulevard.
The Town and Country Shopping Center in the 2300 to 2500 blocks of South MacArthur Boulevard, home to the strip mall including Chuck-E-Cheese and the closed Hibachi Grill Supreme Buffet, is getting a major facelift.
Shopping plaza on the 2300 block of MacArthur Blvd Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
The Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a new apartment complex with green space during a Nov. 20 meeting and on Dec. 17 inside city council chambers, a unanimous vote passed the ordinance through.
With the ordinance passed, movement can be made on the construction of the eventual apartment complex.
More: New 40-unit apartment complex could be coming to Springfield. Here’s everything we know
The petitioner and owner of the complex, Larkspur Properties, an investment firm in Miami, bought the 260,000-square-foot shopping center for $5.7 million in 2022. The company plans on constructing a 3-story apartment complex with up to 40 apartments for rent.
What would the apartments cost? Larkspur president David Bernstein said at the Nov. 20 meeting that a one-bedroom would reflect market value and would be $1,100 if built today.
Michael Higgins, president of the MacArthur Boulevard Association said the organization was glad to see the ordinance pass and is in full support of the apartment complex.
“(It’s been a while) since we’ve seen new apartments this side of Chatham Road into the city of Springfield,” Higgins said. “There has not been too much of that going on, period.”
With the new apartment complex coming to MacArthur, Higgins wants to see development continue within the city, primarily in downtown, where he sees businesses suffering from low population density.
Without a proper population density within the city, grocery stores and other amenities will not build in downtown and spur more growth.
“Look at gentrification, what comes first,” Higgins said, “The population density, and then the need for grocery stores. That comes next.”
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New apartment complex coming to Springfield after city council vote
